Trends in health care are causing North Carolina companies to shift from traditional indemnity health plans to managed health care for their employees.
Obesity is recognized as a serious public health epidemic and a significant underlying cause of morbidity and mortality. This study examined medical care expenditure and utilization patterns in a sample of adolescents in North Carolina enrolled in Medicaid. Results show negative health consequences of overweight as early as adolescence.
Children with serious and complicated medical conditions often require intensive medical treatment and have very high medical care costs. This study examined the total number of children in North Carolina of pre-school age who are medically fragile and profiled their medical care costs.
Health maintenance organizations are forcing many Triangle area hospitals to cut costs through such approaches as shorter patient stays and job reductions. For patients, loss of registered nurses and other care givers could be critical.
Commercial customers are demanding discounts on medical care for providing hospitals with a large volume of business. State hospitals respond that this discriminates against other, individual customers who don't have this same bargaining leverage.
In the first part of this two-part series Carlton dealt with the many problems created by health care costs for employers. In this concluding part, he suggests some solutions for employers.
Managed care's emphasis on cost reduction will affect the way hospitals and doctor's offices use nurses, placing them as team managers, supervisors, and planners in providing most of the patient's basic care.
Health disparities for many diseases are large and longstanding in North Carolina and the nation. This study examined medical care costs for diabetes associated with health disparities among adults enrolled in Medicaid in North Carolina during state fiscal year 2007-2008. The impacts of racial and economic health disparities on medical care costs were also compared.
Much of the current national debate on medical cost containment has centered on ways to restrain rising hospital rates. This article discusses North Carolina's efforts to control hospital inflation.
This is the first of two articles dealing with health care costs and North Carolina employers. This article discusses the problems; the second article to be published later will deal with solutions.
$3.6 billion of government money, some of which funds state government programs that focus primarily on health care, is spent on health programs in North Carolina each year.